The present disclosure relates to pallet jacks with hydraulic lift that may be used in industry for lifting and transporting loaded pallets and other containers and for unloading at new locations. Transporting containers in an industrial setting is a process that has been refined and standardized over many years. Typically, pallets are designed to be compatible with standard pallet jacks to automate loading and unloading.
In the art of material handling, pallets jacks typically include wheeled devices intended for the manual lifting of a pallet, with a load resting thereon, to transport the pallet and load from one work area to another. U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,669 discloses an exemplary pallet jack, or hydraulic pallet truck. Pallet jacks typically include forked support arms upon which extensible rollers are mounted at terminal ends. The opposing ends of the forked support arms are typically connected to one another and attached in some fashion to a pivotal wheel with a hydraulic lift. The pivotal wheel allows the user to steer the pallet jack when either pushing or pulling the pallet jack. The hydraulic lift is operatively connected to the wheel and the extensible rollers to raise and lower the support arms to engage and transport the pallet or to disengage the pallet jack from the pallet.
Due to the generally standardized nature of industrial pallets, pallet jacks are designed to be compatible only with the standard pallet opening. The standard pallet has openings that are matched in size to the forked support arms. The forked support arms insert into openings, and once fully inserted, allow the operator to use the hydraulic system to lift the pallet and its contents. However, pallet openings are not always of standard size, thereby creating the potential for an operator to be forced to leave the pallet, or risk damaging the pallet by attempting to use incompatible support arms.
Further, a standard pallet jack is unable to lift containers that have no slots for a standard pallet jack. Therefore, there is a need, particularly as global trade has increased, for pallet jacks to handle various types of containers, beyond the standard pallet. Such containers include palletized and unpalletized freight, trays, cartons, and boxes.
Therefore, there is a need for a pallet jack that can accommodate all variety of containers.